The invention relates to the use of Interrupted Feed Back (IFB) systems in production of television and radio like programs. The invention shows a method of reducing or removing annoying delayed versions of the talent audio signals from the communication link from the program director back to the talent (IFB). In a common application of the invention, the delayed version of the talent's voice can be removed from the program audio which is mixed with the director's voice instructions to be fed back to the talent's headset. Other uses and purposes for the present invention will also become known to one skilled in the art from the teachings herein.
1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to the field of audibly communicating with remotely located actors and reporters in radio and television systems.
2. Description of the Prior Art
In the Prior art it is known to provide audible communications from a director who is physically located at a television or radio station to the talent (a reporter or actor) who is physically located at a remote site. Such communications are desired to contain both the director's voice instructions to the talent and the program audio. The program audio which is sent back to the talent is intended to not include the talent's voice (commonly called mix minus) but otherwise is the program as it is broadcast from or stored at the facility. This IFB audio allows the talent to both hear the director's instructions, for example to get ready for joining the broadcast “live” and to hear the other actors voices, for example so they can directly respond to questions. Examples of these situations are often seen on local news programs where a reporter at a remote news location joins the news broadcast and converses with the news anchors at the station.
Generating the mix minus audio is performed in parallel with generating the normal program audio, thus two separate mixing facilities are required. Such system allows the talent to hear both the director's instructions and the program audio, without the annoying effect of hearing his own voice. Such systems are called IFB systems (interrupted feed back). It is important that the talent not hear his own voice, as this is disconcerting and makes it difficult for the talent to speak.
Unfortunately, at times it is inconvenient or impossible to create the mix minus version of the program audio in which the reporter's voice is absent but all other audio content is present. In these situations, the regular program (with the reporter's voice) is sent over the IFB channel. This causes an annoyance to the reporter, especially when there is a significant delay in his voice. These situations often happen when the station runs out of space on its audio mix board, or a news event happens suddenly and there is no time to set up a mix minus or IFB link to the reporter.
FIG. 1 shows an example of the prior art in which the invention finds use. FIG. 1 represents a television or radio production system in which a talent is located some distance from a station. The talent speaks into a microphone 10 and the audio signal from 10 is amplified and sent back to the station over a return microwave or satellite link via an ENG truck 11, transmitter 19, and microwave receiver 3. There is frequently some delay involved in this return link, especially when it is via satellite. This delay is one cause of the problems which the present invention addresses. At the station the talent's audio is mixed into an audio program in a mix board 4. The program audio is then passed through a delay 5 to the program transmitter 17, recorder and/or other use. This delay is another cause of the problems which the present invention addresses. The FIG. 1 system demonstrates the case where there is no separate mix-minus signal generated to feed the IFB return.
If there were a separate mix-minus signal generated, a separate mix board 4 would mix all of the program audio, the same as 4, except it would not mix the talent audio from 3. This mix minus signal would be coupled to the switch instead of the program audio. The program or IFB signal or a signal similar to the program or IFB which is fed back to the talent will be referred to herein as the feedback signal. The feedback signal is that signal from which the talent signal is removed to provide the mix minus signal, and may or may not have the director's voice or other nonprogram signals mixed in.
The IFB signal shown in FIG. 1 is simply the program audio (containing the talent's delayed voice) with the director's voice instructions switched in at the director's discretion. This IFB is then transmitted back to the talent's headset 9 via IFB transmitter 6 and IFB receiver 18. In this fashion the talent can both receive instructions from the director, and listen to the program audio to receive appropriate time cues and possibly to carry on conversations with another talent. It might be noted that in some instances, even the IFB link is not available and the talent must operate solely by receiving the program broadcast from 17.